Zalora’s Data Sciences Innovation Lab has allowed them to navigate SEA’s multicultural landscape, anticipate shopping behavior, and curate engagement strategies and demand projections, leading it to, for example, expand its ‘modest wear’ range across its in-house labels, Zalia and Lubna.

ZALORA, a fashion and lifestyle e-commerce platform, employs a data-driven approach to meet the demands of the fashion landscape in Southeast Asia (SEA). Its E-Distribution and TRENDER Professional solutions also help the platform’s brand partners leverage data to understand consumer behavior.

“Zalora is a data-first company. This has allowed us to stay on the pulse of diverse consumer needs and demands in the region, and capitalize on the nuances across the e-commerce landscape,” said Paulo L. Campos III, co-founder and CEO of Zalora Philippines, in an e-mail to BusinessWorld.

Among the company’s investments, he said, is a Data Sciences Innovation Lab which has allowed them to navigate SEA’s multicultural landscape, anticipate shopping behavior, and curate engagement strategies and demand projections as a result. Its ZALORAYA campaign, for instance, was a result of the company observing an annual surge of interest around ethnic wear during the period leading up to the Festival of Eid, an important Islamic holiday.

“Since then, Zalora has been expanding its modest wear range every year across its in-house labels, Zalia and Lubna,” Mr. Campos added.

Brand partners such as Under Armour, an American sports equipment company, also leverage Zalora’s insights through TRENDER Professional, a data solutions service. Launched in 2020, the service provides consumer insights on geographic segmentation, buying behavior, and pricing preferences through interactive dashboards with filterable views.

According to Fabian Ae, Under Armour’s wholesale director, TRENDER has given their team insights into their brand’s performance within a larger e-retailer space.

“The different modules found on TRENDER, such as Product and Traffic Insights, have allowed us to make strategic decisions which we believe will benefit both Under Armour and the Zalora shopper in the future,” Mr. Ae said in a September press statement announcing the sports brand’s utilization of the service.

FULFILLMENT CAPABILITIES

Fashion and lifestyle brand Milliot & Co., meanwhile, has tapped Zalora to provide its E-Distribution service for its Southeast Asian digital marketplace channels. The service leverages Zalora’s warehousing and fulfillment capabilities for the consolidation of stock and order management. The Malaysia-based brand will also use the platform’s end-to-end e-store management solutions, which include customer support and content creation.

“Milliot & Co… is soon bound to extend its footprint in the country and reach more Filipino consumers by tapping on [these] solutions,” Mr. Campos said.

Mr. Campos told BusinessWorld that Zalora has spent years investing in and building its logistics network to ensure that the products it carries are accessible, and that customer pain points like returns and exchanges are resolved. In the Philippines, it has an e-fulfillment center in Muntinlupa City with a 7.2-million item storage capacity.

“Our Philippine e-fulfillment center and the facility in Indonesia are designed to complement our Regional E-Fulfilment Hub in Malaysia,” added Mr. Campos. “All three fulfilment centers had their best productivity performance in January 2021 versus any month in 2020.” — Patricia Mirasol

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